The Last Dragon
by Jack-of-Spades
Summary: Two years after the war, the group that traveled with the Avatar are heroes. Who better to guard the last dragon egg which has finally begun to hatch? But some things have been changed too much by time to ever be what they once were. Eventual Zutara.
1. Things Change

"Change is the constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the phoenix"

-Christina Baldwin

**The Last Dragon**

Chapter 1: Things Change

The Fire Lord was bored.

It wasn't anyone's fault really. The palace was operating as normal, a few messenger birds zipping past the windows and servants scurrying this way and that. The day was bright and beautiful, lighting every bit of the newly restored palace until it shone like a ruby under the sun. Zuko had ordered in the beginning that the towns would be repaired before his own palace, a gesture that assured his people he would care for them as his predecessors had not.

It had been almost two year since the conclusion of the war, the war people were now calling 'Sozin's Madness'. Zuko had his own thoughts on the matter, referring to it as 'That damned stupid war' if he talked about it at all. He wanted so badly to just let the war sink into the oblivion of history, to have everyone forget that it was the Fire Nation who had thrown the world into chaos._ Even when he's rotting in prison, Father can still screw with my life,_ Zukowas heard to mutter under his breath more than a few times.

But the trust of the Avatar, the savior who had restored balanced and defeated armies and the Phoenix King himself, went a long way towards helping the rest of the world trust Zuko. His family had a reputation for madness and war, something he worked desperately hard to get past in the first few months. He hated to admit it, but the scar seemed to help. It reminded people that Ozai and Zuko had been enemies, not partners. There were still the radicals who saw all people remotely connected to Fire Nation royalty as evil and more than one attempt had been made on his life, but even those had started to subside in the wake of the good he was doing.

Peace talks were going well, there was open communication between the Nations, even Earth Rumble Seven no longer had to be held under ground. Or were they on eight now?

But it all lead back to the same thing: the Fire Lord was bored.

It wasn't that he missed the war. Never that. He had nightmares about the world ending in flames or dancing blue and red, but he did miss seeing the world. It had been months since he'd seen anyone that wasn't in the palace. The Fire Lord's duties seemed to mainly consist of reading paperwork and then signing it, over and over again. Orders to rebuild the damn with less pollution, gaming regulations in the hills, complaints that all seemed to begin with my-neighbor's-eel-hound-never-shuts-up. Every little problem was the end of the world in someone's eyes and all of them wanted Zuko to deal with it personally.

Once he'd even tried to sneak away, just to get a breath of the air outside of his capital city but he hadn't gone even a block before one of his advisors had tracked him down and all but dragged the reluctant fire bender to another council meeting. He hadn't tried again.

Zuko stretched at his desk, massaging the cramps out of his hand and glancing over the letter he'd been composing to the leader of the Earth Nation's swamp villages. He'd been struggling with the wording for over an hour now. How did you outline a treaty with a man who thought everything from death to pants was an illusion?

"Finished? They're sending the messenger hawks out for the day," Mai's voice drifted through the air to Zuko. He smiled and looked up at her. Her hair was drawn up in two perfect buns, the strands falling from it dark enough to capture even moonlight. He'd asked her once to try wearing it down, loving the way it looked when it was free and wild, something he only glimpsed as she was getting ready for bed at night. She'd only shaken her head and reminded him that they were trying to put up a dignified face and there were always ambassadors around.

"_You can't have them thinking you're just a kid."_ She'd said. _"The Fire Lord's reputation has is the reputation of the entire nation."_ They hadn't discussed it after that.

"Mai," he said with a smile, putting an arm up to draw her down for a brief kiss. Their lips brushed and then she turned to look at the paper in front of him. She gave a sigh and Zuko winced at the disappointment in her voice.

"You didn't finish," she said.

Zuko frowned and pushed himself away from the desk, standing and trying to shake his limbs to life. "I'm not just goofing off in here you know," he grumbled. "But messenger hawks sent all the way to that swamp have a tendency not to come back. If I only get one letter through, it has to be perfect."

He glanced at her, part of him wishing she would laugh and assure him that he _didn't_ have to be perfect. That it was alright to screw up once in a while, make little mistakes, spill something at dinner. That he was still allowed to be Zuko.

Instead she pulled him in for another brief kiss, the half smile on her lips vanishing into the mask she'd been trained from childhood to wear. His heart seemed to break every time she brought it out around him. "I know you can do it, Zuko. Don't worry."

He smiled as though reassured but couldn't keep the expression once she was gone. He took a deep breath and glanced back down at the half finished letter. "… maybe I should offer to get him a belt?"

* * *

"Katara, the training dummy is dead. Stop torturing the corpse."

The water bender paused and drew back the strands of water from the sack of dirt she'd been hammering into the ground for the past half hour. It was sliced four ways to Sunday and only a bit of the original dirt clung valiantly to the coarse material. The crude face they'd drawn on one side had been washed off within the first five minutes of her attack. In truth the most challenging part of the exercise was showing enough restraint to keep the sack together enough _to_ train with it.

"Aang, you're back," Katara smiled, pushing her dark brown hair behind one ear as she looked at the young man who stood in the door way. He wasn't a boy any longer, hadn't been for a long time. It really wasn't fair. Coming out of the block of ice three years ago, Aang had been such a _happy_ kid. The world had demanded he abandon that joy and in the end he had. Dressed in the symbols and colors of a monk, 

it was easy to see the years that had aged his eyes. Aang held every life that had been lost in that war in his heart. She could hear him cry out in his sleep, countless names slipping out of his lips. Monk Gyatso's name was one of the most common.

It wasn't fair that Aang hadn't been allowed a childhood when few had loved life like he had. But then, none of them had really had childhoods, had they? She and Sokka had grown up as almost the sole survivors of their generation, knowing they had to protect both those older and younger than themselves. Toph had been fenced in, breaking out of her shell in the form of an invincible fighter in illegal underground sports. Suki had been groomed to be a warrior from youth, taught to hide her identity under paints to confuse the enemy. And Zuko…

Zuko had his own scars, and not only the one that adorned his face.

"Katara?"

"Hmmm?" She suddenly realized Aang was in front of her, looking at her with concern. It surprised her sometimes, how tall he'd gotten. Over the last summer his body had seemed determined to make up for lost time. One more like that and she'd be the one looking up when they talked. They were almost eye level now, barely half an inch separating them.

"I was going to ask how the searches were going, but you kind of spaced out on me there." He smiled softly, that gentle smile that radiated peace and serenity. It wasn't his fault but… sometimes that smile annoyed her. It was the same, no matter who he was talking to. Couldn't there be a smile that was only hers? But that was selfish. Aang belonged to the world. Never really to her.

Sometimes Katara wanted to shout _'I was there first! When the rest of the world forgot you, gave up on you, I was there. But now…' _Now he had embraced his life as the Avatar. And the Avatar had a duty to the world before anything else. Even her.

"The searches are going as well as can be expected," she said with a light laugh, pushing her worries to the back of her mind. "The ones who've survived this long are the ones that are really, really good at it."

It had been Katara's mission for the past year and a half to sniff out the war criminals that had escaped the long series of trials at the end of the war. Zuko had dealt with most of those in the fire nation, granting pardons when it was clear the generals were only acting under orders and had done no cruelty outside the basics of war and sentencing others to banishment or imprisonment if they had tortured prisoners of their own volition or encouraged their men to do the same. There was so much gray area, nothing had been black and white since the end of the war.

No, even before that her lines of absolute right and wrong had begun to shift and slide. When had that happened? When she'd blood bended the first time? Perhaps in a cave that had glittered with green rock where she'd been held prisoner alongside one of the most confusing human beings she'd ever run across.

"Katara, you're doing it again," Aang said, a touch of soft laughter in his voice. Katara gave a start and then laughed herself. She pressed a kiss to his cheek, fingers sliding over his neck and pulling him into a warm hug.

"Sorry, Aang. I guess I'm just tired." She pulled back and took his hand. "Hungry? I smell roasted whale jerky. We should get some before the rest of these guys gobble it up." She spoke the last part as she led him out of the training hut and into the middle of her camp.

Tents of various nationalities and designs were scattered haphazardly around a central fire. All the nations had leant benders to Katara's mission. In total they were ten: two water benders from the Southern Water Tribe, four earth benders, and three fire benders. And of course Katara herself. And helped when he could. He was probably with her more than he was any other one place, but that still wasn't very often. Sometimes she didn't see him, didn't hear from him for weeks. He had to 'restore balance to the world'; something she had once thought was taken care of with the simple destruction of Ozai. But it turned out to be much more complicated. Old hatreds among the nations were slow to die.

The men and women she now worked with on a day to day basis were all excellent in their bending, precise and well trained. The group had traveled together for so long now that they knew each other inside and out, but for Katara there was something missing.

After the war, she discovered she was a legend. Their small group was almost as revered as the Avatar himself, each nation touting their individual hero or heroes like victory flags. Toph, of course, had loved 

it and Sokka was so wrapped up in Suki that he probably didn't notice but for Katara it had hit hard. Her new traveling companions followed her, respected her, trusted her. But she could hear laughter and jokes fall silent when she approached the campfire at night, making way for a respectful silence.

She looked forward to these times when Aang visited, not only because she loved him but because she knew he understood. He'd been put on a pedestal his entire life after all. With him she was free to joke and tease, act like the child she wished she still was. Even now eating a simple meal of roasted whale with him she could shut her eyes and pretend Toph was teasing Sokka off to one side, making Suki laugh, and Zuko fiddling with the fire on the other side, trying to figure out why the meat seemed to only burn on one side.

Later, when the embers were starting to cool and the rest of the camp had begun to drift in the direction of their various tents, Aang followed Katara back to hers. She knew what it meant when he followed her to say goodnight. "You're not staying."

"I can't," Aang answered with a helpless shrug. He reached out a hand and pulled her to him, lifting her downcast chin for a moment. "Before I go…"

"Aang, we've been over this," she cut him off. "Not yet. Not when I only see you a few times a month for a few days at a time."

"You know you were of marrying age when the war ended," Aang reminded her. "You'll be an old maid before you know it." His teasing was light and free but she knew underneath it was real sorrow and it broke his heart every time she said no, the same way it broke her heart every time he rushed off and disappeared into the sky.

"Be safe, Aang," she said instead of answering, leaning in to kiss him. His lips were soft and sweet, but a tang of bitterness lingered long after she'd watched him vanish into the darkness and had gone back to her own bed to dream.

* * *

"Chief!" bare feet slapped against the stone walkways, hurrying away from the temple and towards the edge of the Sun Warrior's civilization where the chief was known to meditate in the sun. Well, he _said _he was meditating but quite a few of the warriors had heard 'chanting' that sounded a whole lot like snoring.

"Chief!" the messenger called again as the chief of the Sun Warriors stood up, looking around in confusion. "The egg! It's-"

The messenger didn't get any farther than that. For a large man, the chief could move when he wanted to. The leader arrived at the temple minutes later. The doors were opened, allowing him to move directly into the main chamber. There wasn't time to worry about the disregard for security the warriors had been showing lately, opening the door when it wasn't yet the solstice.

"Show me," he demanded as he moved through the small crowd that had gathered around the pedestal in the middle of the room. The statues frozen in the fire bending stances around them looked on, silent witnesses of this historic moment in time. The first and only dragon egg in centuries was in front of them.

And it had a crack.

The Sun Warrior's Chief sucked in a sharp breath, dark skin paling slightly. "Summon the Fire Lord and the Avatar. It is time."

* * *

Review please. I'd like to know if this is worth continuing.


	2. Tea and Hawks

I love you guys. Thank you for the reviews.

**The Last Dragon**

Chapter 2: Tea and Hawks

"Zuko!"

"Mmmph…" He felt a pillow hit his feet. Just once, but it put a smile on the face he had buried under the blankets to know he'd made Mai react even that much. Outwardly his response was another groan and his fingers tightening on the blankets she was trying to drag off of him. He knew his feet were sticking out and he wiggled his toes, just to annoy her.

She'd been trying to pull the Fire Lord from his bed since dawn. He'd known it was dawn even without looking because dawn was when the majority of the messenger hawks from around the world arrived. The racket they made was known to wake the entire palace and the imess/i they made kept quite a few servants busy for the remainder of the morning. Peeking out now, the shadows had moved enough to tell him they'd been playing the 'Get Zuko Out Of Bed' game for a good half hour at least. The patterns on the curtains and rugs around him in combination with the shadows managed to give him a pretty accurate sundial.

"Ugh! Zuko, you _need_ to get up. There's a letter for you and… forget it. Just get up now or you'll wish you had." Zuko could picture his girl friend's face. She would be… well actually she'd probably look a lot like she usually did, a hint of a frown under narrowed eyes and sharp features. He wondered for a moment if the expression would change if he suddenly jumped out of the bed and messed up her hair.

It took a few minutes for him to realize that Mai was no longer yelling at him or attempting to pull the comforter off his form. He held his breath and listened. There was faint talking in the hall, a few footsteps. Probably the servants. Had Mai really given up and decided to let him sleep in? That would be a pleasant first. He hadn't slept in since his coronation.

Splash!

"Nephew, I am disappointed in you. A full grown man should not need his uncle to get him out of bed in the morning."

"U-uncle?" Zuko sputtered, lifting up his head as the smell of tea overwhelmed his senses. He blinked in the light, trying to figure out of his uncle had _actually_ just emptied a pitcher of cold tea onto the reigning Fire Lord. Was there no such thing as respect? And more importantly, since when did Uncle Iroh use tea in such a frivolous manner?"

"I would not have wasted the tea so freely," his uncle answered his unspoken question, reading the confusion and shock in Zuko's eyes, "But today is a special occasion." It would have had to be the end of the world for his uncle to actually dump out tea. Zuko's eyes widened and he looked around in a panic, throwing off the covers and darting to his closet. Trying to put his shoes on before his pants finally slowed him down enough to hear Iroh's boisterous laughter and Mai's dry chuckles.

"What… what is going on with you two?" Zuko grumbled, slipping his shoes back off, still half dressed in red silk pajama bottoms. He stood in front of them, glaring with the expression known to have made more than a few servants and advisers find a hiding spot far away from their Lord.

It didn't have much of an effect on Mai and Iroh except that Iroh's laughter softened into a smile. Mai merely smirked at him. "I told you you'd regret not getting up when I asked," she reminded him. Zuko scowled at them, sitting back down on the bed. Mai continued to stand a bit off to the side but Iroh joined his nephew in sitting.

"You should read this," Iroh said quietly, handing Zuko a scroll. Zuko glanced at both of them again and then went on to read the letter. His eyes skipped to the bottom to read the signature first, curious who could have provoked such a reaction from the two people closest to him.

"It's from the Sun Warriors. Aang and I went there so long ago; I'm surprised they're writing to me. They didn't seem to like me much," he added, Ham Ghao's face coming easily to mind. It was hard not to remember someone who had voted for your demise via a dragon's intestines.

Realizing that the news had to be serious to prompt such an unexpected communication, Zuko's eyes ran over the letter from top to bottom. And then once more. After a third reading he finally sat back and closed his eyes, one hand still on the paper.

"So it _was_ an egg." Zuko breathed. Who had called it that? Aang, probably, berating him for picking it up. They'd still been getting to know one another during that adventure, They hadn't known for sure at the time. They hadn't even been looking for it when they'd gone to the Sun Warriors' temple in search of the secrets of fire bending. In his mind's eye Zuko could remember picking it up, how surprised he'd been when what should have been cold metal in his hands felt warm and alive.

"Yes. The last dragon egg in existence. I still can't believe you just picked it up," Iroh's voice tinted with humor as he regarded his nephew's thoughtful face. Zuko had grown so much since his banishment. For a while Iroh had been afraid that Zuko… but it had not happened. Instead Zuko had grown into a young man any father would have been proud of. _Should_ have been proud of. Sometimes he wasn't sure Zuko had ever really managed to let go of the hurt Ozai had laid in Zuko's heart when he'd banished the boy. It was so hard to tell. Zuko hadn't even been to visit Ozai since the ex- Phoenix King had refused to tell him anything about his mother.

"Neither can I," Zuko said with a half smile, glancing at his uncle. His mind drifted back to the letter. It asked Zuko to come to the temple to receive the last dragon egg into his personal protection. There was some kind of ceremony referenced that Zuko didn't understand but that could be dealt with later. It also said that the Avatar would be the one to actually take the egg from the pedestal and present it to Zuko. A tradition that hadn't been seen in years but was still expected to be carried out perfectly.

There was that word again, 'perfect'. Why did everything have to be perfect? Actually, not everything did. Only the things the Fire Lord did, the things Zuko did.

"It'll be good to see Aang again," is what he finally said aloud, titling his head back to look up at the ceiling. His hair wasn't yet brushed and pulled into the traditional knot at the top of his head, his crown waiting for him on its stand at the side of his bed. He'd once heard that the Fire Lord was supposed to wear the crown constantly, even while sleeping, but had tried it once and woken up to the tip trying to gouge out his eye. That tradition was quickly thrown out the window.

Sitting there, he tried to imagine what it would be like to see Aang again. The avatar of course visited the palace on occasion, just as he visited all the nations. Zuko couldn't help wondering if Aang had all but vanished from all his friend's lives or if he was the only one left alone.

"I'll take an Eel hound," Zuko said thoughtfully, trying to bring the more practical problems to the front of his mind. "I'm not sure how long this will take." He turned to Mai, reaching out for her, drawing her to him until she stood in front of where he was sitting. "Are you going to be alright?"

The corner of her mouth twisted into a soft smile and she leaned down to kiss him. "Of course," she answered easily. "I've never been some helpless girl who goes eek-eek when there's trouble." Her dry humor made him chuckle.

"Never," Zuko agreed. "Alright. I'll leave as soon as the hound is ready."

"I'm afraid, Fire Lord Zuko, that the hound is actually waiting for you. When this lovely young woman told me of the letter, I knew you would want to leave as soon as possible. Once you were out of bed, that is," his uncle told him, eyes twinkling.

Zuko pulled his uncle into a quick hug. "You'll probably be back at you tea shop before I return, won't you?"

"Probably," Iroh agreed. "It's been a nice visit, Zuko, but if I'm here much longer my Pai Sho game will fall apart. No one here seems to even know how to play more than a beginner's match. I can't go back and start losing, now can I?"

"How could we bare the shame?" Zuko answered, struggling to keep a solemn expression. He hugged Iroh again, kissing Mai as he left to go wash for the journey.

* * *

"Katara! Miss Katara, are you awake?" There was a heavy thumping on the tent flap and Katara rolled off her mad, trying to blink away sleep. Her dreams had been restless and full of vague memories, probably brought on by Aang's visit two nights before.

It took her a few moments to find a pair of loose pants and a shirt to pull on over her underclothes so she could crawl out of the small tent and into the bright morning light. Several people were gathered around her tent door and she had to wait for them to back up before she had enough room to stand. A laugh escaped her as she looked around.

"What is it? Were we invaded by beetle-hoppers during the night?" She looked curiously from face to face, trying to figure out what the various expressions of excitement and worry meant. A loud rumble from behind her tent made her whirl around, and she was pulling water from the damp air before the thought of an attack even reached her conscious mind.

"Appa?!" she exclaimed, scrambling over the rocky ground towards the large bison. She threw her arms around him as far as she could, burying her face in the warm soft fur. Releasing him with a laugh, she walked around him, calling out. "Aang! Aang, where are you?"

"Miss Katara," someone touched her shoulder, halting her search. "Aang didn't come back last night. Appa was alone with this." He handed her a scroll and she ran her fingers along the unbroken seal. She almost told them to go ahead and open it next time in case there was an emergency, then remembered some of the letters Aang had sent trying to woo her and thought better of it.

Slender fingers broke the scroll and skimmed the words.

_Dearest Katara, _

_I'm afraid I have to ask for a favor. Do you remember the temple Zuko and I visited during the war? We learned the art of Fire Bending from the Sun Warriors there, but we also learned something else I didn't mention. It wasn't because I was trying to hide anything from you, but because I didn't even realize what I'd seen until a messenger hawk caught up with me yesterday. _

_Ran and Shaw are not the last dragons. Or at least we hope they won't be. The Sun Warriors have been holding onto a Dragon's egg for years now and it had been presumed dead but two days ago it began to hatch. _

_There is a ceremony that will place the egg and the new hatchling under the protection of the fire lord (_In her head Katara translated that to 'Zuko gets to babysit the infant dragon' for her own personal amusement) _and traditionally the Avatar is the one to actually lift the egg and give it to the reigning Fire Lord in the ceremony. Even though it sounds short, preparations take several days, days I can't spare yet. You know that better than anyone because if I had a single day free, you know I'd be there with you. _

_I've contacted the Warriors and explained the situation. So instead of the Avatar, a representative of each of the four kingdoms of the war will take the Avatar's place. Zuko as the Fire Lord and representative of the fire nation of course and if you agree, you will represent the Water Tribes. I won't tell you who the others are yet, though I'll bet you can guess. _

_I wish I didn't have to ask this from you, but I'm sure if I went to every Water Tribe in existence, they would all insist you represent them. Well, you or Sokka but Suki would probably hurt me for feeding his ego. She has to put up with enough of his admirers as it is. _

_On a selfish note, I wish you would think more about my proposal. I know you said not yet, but... I love you, Katara. I won't give up on you. Be safe. And wait for me._

_Love, _

_Aang_

Ignoring the last bit for now, she closed up the scroll and explained what was going on to the rest of her team. She was confident they could continue without her. She wasn't the best tracker among them and together they'd be able to handle anything they came across. She told them this and watched as they swelled with pride, knowing one of The Heroes believed they were as strong with her as without her.

She packed what she'd need onto Appa quickly and easily, making sure he was fed and got a chance to rest before their journey. To pass the time while Appa napped, she tried to guess who else would be 

there. Who else would Aang send to represent the Earth Kingdom but Toph? He could ask king Bumi, but Bumi would probably break the egg. And the city.

The last time she'd visited Toph she'd been chasing a fire nation convict through the city. Katara had almost felt sorry for the old soldier when she learned that he'd managed to somehow make it through the city and straight into Earth Rumble Seven. Toph, still champion supreme to the dismay of her parents, had shot the man to the ceiling with one well placed hit and let him hang from the earthen roof by his ankles until Katara had arrived to collect him. That had been almost half a year ago.

She wondered what Toph was doing with herself now. As the only metal bender and the undisputed greatest earth bender on the entire planet, Toph would surely be looking for the next big challenge. Alligator-Tiger wrestling? Lava bending? Braving a civilized conversation with her parents? Probably not the last one.

Three hours later she was in the sky, seated on Appa's fuzzy shoulders. Her simple pack with clothing and a provisional amount of food lay next to her, her water supply in a pouch at her hip. The wind rushed past her and she laughed for the sheer exhilaration that came with flying. They'd been too busy chasing and being chased before for her to really enjoy it but now she felt free enough to put her hands out in the wind and stare at the horizon rushing up to meet them until her eyes watered and her vision blurred. Brown hair streamed out behind her like the ribbons on the messenger hawks that always called Aang away from her. It felt good to be the one leaving everything behind instead of being the one being left.

Once the elation of being back in the air had worn off a bit, she settled down and began to talk to Appa. The large bison never answered of course except in the indiscernible grunts and growls that passed for Appa's words of wisdom. Just little things about what she'd been doing and some of the people she'd seen. She asked him about Aang and imagined that his quiet bellow was an answer, telling her about the people Aang had had to meet with and the spirits he'd been trying to quiet down.

When the balance of the world was put into jeopardy, it had affected the spirit world more than any of them had ever suspected. Aang's few visits during their adventures had not given him the whole story and the more he learned and explored, the more Aang had realized that the absence of an avatar for so long while he'd been frozen had done almost as much to affect the harmonies of the spirits as it had affected the nations of the world.

She knew a lot of the time when he was gone, he wasn't just visiting foreign lands or making peace between tribe, nation, kingdom and village. He was also finding places to meditate and learn how to protect himself in the spirit world where his bending was useless.

"I miss him so much, Appa," she confided, rolling onto her back, hands tucked beneath her head. "But what worries me is I'm getting used to missing him. Now it's a surprise when I wake up and he's there, instead of when I wake up and he isn't." She rolled onto her stomach and patted the bison. "But at least I know he has you and Momo," she grinned, stroking the white fur. Appa rumbled in agreement and she smiled, watching the world race past below.

* * *

"Suddenly I remember why we don't use these things very often," Zuko groaned, hanging onto the saddle for dear life. Eel hounds might be the fastest method of transportation over land or water, but they also left the rider with more sore muscles and bruises that a healer knew what to do with. Not even his journey by ostrich horse had been quite so uncomfortable though this time he was refreshed and well rested.

But he had to admit, it was fast. The eel hound pounded over the rock like it would continue to the end of the earth. As they'd climbed over that last mountain, Zuko was fairly certain he'd seen ruins in the distance. They were getting close.

His suspicions were further confirmed when they began to pass large blocks of stone or small statues covered that were nearly hidden under ivy and moss. Only sharp eyes used to having to anticipate enemies allowed him to spot them. A smirk of anticipation crept over his face and he spurred the Eel hound on. Caught up in it's rider's excitement, the Eeel hound shot ahead through the woods and before he knew it they were at the base of the stairs that lead up and into the ruins.

"No one's meeting us at the gates I see," Zuko murmured, stroking the Eel hound's head. "Better let me go first boy."

Well remembering the traps that had been set before and highly doubting they'd been taken down, Zuko scanned the path up ahead, occasionally climbing back onto the hound and using it to jump a particularly treacherous bit of ground or a trap that was too wide for him to safely cross. The eel hound didn't much like the steps which were much too small for its feet, so Zuko continued on his own up to the top of the pyramid . He hadn't seen anyone else yet, but it was easy to figure out that they would gather together where they'd first met.

"Fire Lord Zuko!" the Chief's booming voice rang out. Zuko could see him now, standing at the top of the steps.

"All those traps down there, I was beginning to think you'd changed your mind about me coming," Zuko said with a smile as he reached the top. He held out his hand to the chief and was instead pulled into a large hug as the man laughed.

"Well now, we can't have just anyone coming up here, can we? Besides, if you can't get past those, how are you going to protect our greatest treasure?" the man asked. Zuko had to agree with him here. The traps weren't that hard if you were paying attention.

"Has Aang gotten here yet?" Zuko asked, wondering whether the bison was faster than the eel hound. For some reason Appa had seemed so much more elusive when Zuko was trying to catch them. After joining the avatar, it turned out most of Aang's talent for losing him came from a combination of luck and a rather bad sense of direction. He'd been dismayed to learn both Sokka and Aang (who steered Appa more than any of the others) had a strong tendency to fly in the wrong direction for half an hour at the beginning of each journey. What he'd once taken for deceptive cleverness was simply an upside down map.

"I'm afraid the avatar won't be joining us," the chief rumbled. He held up a finger as an irate Zuko began to speak and continued. "But he has provided a most unique solution. Instead of a single man representing the balance between the nations, there will be four."

Great. More diplomats he had to try not to offend for a week. He'd begun looking forward to this journey during the ride over, realizing it had given him a chance to get out of the palace and be around people who didn't really care if he was the ruler of a powerful nation. Instead he had to act dignified and try not to upset anyone.

"Why so down, your royal-ness?" a female voice taunted him as a figure stepped out of the ruins. "Does the royal butt miss its throne already? I can kick it back there if you really want."

"Good to see you too, Toph," Zuko grinned, raising his head. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. The day Toph treated him like a dignitary boars would fly.

* * *

If you like the story, please don't hesitate to let me know. Reviewsfaster updates.


	3. Reunion

You guys are amazing. I got up early to start writing this when I saw all the people who sent reviews. I'm sorry if it ends up a bit shorter but I wanted to get this up before work.

**The Last Dragon**

Chapter 3: Reunion

With the sun warriors promising to feed and house his eel hound, Zuko was left with nothing to do but follow Toph into the Temple. She really hadn't changed much in the last few years. There were more stories about what she'd done after the war than about anyone else., probably because where the others were out trying to quietly put the world back in order and move on with their lives, Toph was trying to make sure things were _better _than normal. Better for her at least. The underground fighting was the first thing she'd improved on, making it public and therefore accountable to the general earth kingdom population. No one was ever going to get cheated out of their prize again if Toph had anything to say about it.

She'd been instrumental in rebuilding the earth kingdom cities, though many of the officials were left scratching their heads when the reconstructed mail slides in Omashu tended to come with loop-the-loops. Toph had insisted they helped with aerodynamics and getting faster mail. It would have been easier to believe if her grin wasn't as large as a crocodile's.

But there was something comforting about knowing Toph was up to her old tricks. She was the perfect balance of her element, steady and trustworthy as the ground below her. With a few well placed cracks, of course.

Stepping into the cool shadow of the inner room, Zuko saw the egg was exactly where he'd first seen it, resting in the middle of the room like nothing more than a valuable stone. Shouldn't it have been in a nest or something? Where were Ran and Shao?

"You and Aang really should have taken me with you on your little field trip," Toph said, stepping up to the egg and laying a hand carefully on the surface. "I could tell this thing was alive from the moment I got here. For starters, I can't bend it. I don't care what kind of precious, rare whatever metal it's supposed to be. I've bent _space earth_ before. Anything that supposedly came out of the ground is my territory. This baby is alive and kicking."

Zuko chuckled, recognizing the fact that Toph was, in her own way, trying to cheer him up. It must have been obvious for her that he was tense, though he knew himself well enough to know that he was _less _tense here than he had been lately at home. That thought in itself was slightly depressing.

"So how did they know it was hatching?" Zuko asked, following her around the egg. Then, "Oh." His question was staring him in the face. Around the backside of the egg was a long deep crack that started near the bottom and spider webbed out towards the top.

"Apparently Dragons can take a month or so to hatch," Toph shrugged. "So make yourself comfortable." She hadn't had much to do but talk to the warriors since they arrived and the egg was the _only_ thing anyone could focus on enough to talk about. Zuko found out later from Ham Ghao that Toph was told she could _not_ bend ruins back into shape and had been annoyed at the loss of something new to play with.

"Wait, we're going to be here for a month?" Zuko gave a start. "I thought it was just a quick ceremony, a couple days at the most! I can't leave my kingdom for that long!"

"Settle down, Lord Drama," Toph smirked at him. "We'll only be here for a few days while the ceremony sets up. But you're still going to want to make yourself comfortable because there isn't _anything _to do." The last part was said with a groan as she slumped down one of the walls, crossing her arms over her chest with a pout. "Thank god you're here at least. The others are still on their way."

Zuko nodded. "Who else is coming?" he asked.

"Well Katara of course for the water tribes. The Air nomads were a bit more tricky since Aang's the last one and him not showing up is the whole reason we need another representative." Zuko blinked. He hadn't thought about that. "Sooo," Toph continued, "Teo's on his way. Aang always did say he had the spirit of an airbender."

Zuko relaxed. At least it was someone he'd gotten to know before the war was over. Granted, he hadn't spent much time with Teo or the others outside of Aang's main group before they were separated again, but from what he could remember of Teo, the kid wasn't bad. He had a live-and-let live kind of personality that saw past the surface of a lot of things. If anyone could represent Aang's lost people, it would be Teo.

"But in the meantime, it's just you and mean dragon breath," Toph said from her spot on the ground. "So make yourself comfy."

"I think you might be getting too soft in your old age, Toph," Zuko said after a moment, raising an eyebrow as a smirk darted across his expression. "Content to just sit around and do nothing? What's next? Rescuing fluffy bunny-kittens from trees for old grannies?"

Toph looked interested, a sneering smile on her own face. "This from the spoiled prince who hasn't seen anything past a mountain of paperwork in months? You're so out of practice, you light candles with matches!" She rose to her feet, smirking at him in a ready stance. They were already moving out of the temple and away from the egg.

"You realize that there's only one answer to something like that," Zuko said, his expression the epitome of royal arrogance.

"Knock Zuko on his butt?" Toph suggested.

"Close," Zuko said, moving into fighting stance, "But no cigar."

Katara's breath was taken away when she first saw the ruins. Aang had described them but nothing could have prepared her for seeing them herself. Even as a shadow of what it once must have been it was incredible, huge buildings made of rock and granite expertly carved. And by hand as well. This place was too sacred to the fire nation for them to have allowed earth benders to fashion it.

Appa circled lower, moving down towards the front of the gate. An eel hound was lying in the shade near a large tub of clean water. Aang must have told them Katara would be on Appa because several sun warriors were busy making a large pile of apples. Appa saw this and almost landed on one of the men in an effort to get to the treat.

Katara laughed at the bumpy landing and slid down from Appa's back. She patted his side in good-bye. He'd eat before he went, but was no doubt anxious to get back to Aang. He would finish eating and fly back to wherever the airbender was. She was surprised Aang could bare to be away from him _this_ long after the last time. She turned, gazing up at the temple. The peaceful stillness was serene as the landscape, a place that only seemed gently touched by time despite the crumbling walls. There was a spirit here that could not be broken. It was so still…

Well, almost. A sudden spurt of fire raced into the air over the temple accompanied by a distant yell and retort. Alarmed, Katara raced up through the gate and up the steps towards the fire, nearly falling over when a moment later an answering rock flew through the air and burst into shrapnel that all seemed to fly towards one particular spot.

Knowing who would be here, it wasn't too hard to figure out what was going on.

"Take that, Dragon Breath!" Toph's voice rang out through the ruins. There was a crash and Katara could see a large column of dust suddenly shoot up into the air.

There was an answering shout from (who else?) Zuko and smoke rose up to mingle with the dust. Toph had always been better at showmanship in fighting than any of the rest of them. She'd made it to the top of the underground fighting rings after all, and to do that you had to be able to impress an audience.

Coming around the last bend and hopping over a trip wire she'd almost been too distracted to spot, Katara was finally in a position to watch the fight. She didn't announce her presence just yet, enjoying the moment before the reunion.

Zuko's hair had come undone sometime during the fight, dark tendrils emphasizing each movement he made, each duck and dodge. Contrary to Toph's taunting, Zuko certainly hadn't let himself go to seed. He'd removed his shirt for the fight, giving them a view even Katara could appreciate. Sinewy muscles and paler skin attested to years of work and practice. She couldn't help comparing him just a moment to the only other guys she'd seen without shirts. Sokka of course, but while her brother had definitely caught more than one girl's attention, her brother's never seemed like his skin was all that was keeping his muscles intact. Zuko's body screamed that only his self control and disinterest was keeping your head on your shoulders. And Aang… well while Aang was undeniably fit, he still had much of a child's body. It was slender and lean, but like everything about him it reflected peace, not aggression.

Toph had… Well Toph actually looked about the same as she had two years ago. A couple inches might have been added to her frame and under her loose clothing it looked like she was starting to come into her womanly curves but aside from that, she was exactly the same. Her hair was done up in the earth kingdom's favorite fashion of two puffballs near her ears, bangs covering eyes that held laughter but not sight.

Katara and Toph and gotten off to a rocky start but things had worked themselves out. It had been even worse with Zuko, Katara willing to trust the fire bender about as far as she could kick him. But that had settled itself as well, first when he'd taken her on one of the most important journeys of her life and then when he'd saved that life, almost losing his own. Sometimes it felt like that lightning bolt had seared itself into her mind, that all she had to do was close her eyes and she'd be able to see that moment again when Zuko had embraced the lightning bolt and pulled it to his own heart.

"Katara!" Toph shouted, of course the first to notice a foreign intrusion on their bending battle. The boulder she'd been about to send Zuko's way hit the ground hard enough to crack the earth below it as Toph threw herself at Katara with a grin. The waterbender eagerly returned the embrace, gripping Toph tightly until she pulled back far enough to lightly punch Katara in the arm. "It's been _two_ months since I've gotten a letter Katara. There better be a good excuse."

"It's also been two months since we've had a messenger hawk to send out any letters," Katara pointed out. "The last one I sent your way I never got back."

"Oh. Right." Toph rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "That's kind of a long story." She made a few evasive movements and then moved around behind Katara. "We can talk about that later. Uh… go say hi to Zuko!"

Katara laughed and allowed herself to be pushed forward into a decidedly male embrace, strong arms wrapping around her and pulling her into tight hug. Her arms went around Zuko's back with a smile and then pulled back to look at him.

"Good to see you, Katara," he said with a slow smile. The slightest bit of hesitation still lingered as though he was afraid she wouldn't return the sentiments.

"Good to see you too, Zuko," she answered in kind. She really was glad to see him, glad to see him wear a smile rather than the smirk or look of frustration he seemed to carry for most of the war. Even when he'd first joined the ground, after the first few days of surprised happiness that he'd been more or less forgiven by most of them, it hadn't taken long for Zuko to fall back into an almost constant brooding silence. Having finally heart the entire story, she now understood why he'd been unable to allow himself to be too happy for long and was glad to see he'd begun to move past the guilt of his past.

"How's Mai?" she asked, remembering the fire nation girl that Zuko had begun to court towards the end of the war.

"Good," Zuko answered quickly, his smile turning slightly stiff. "Same as ever."

"Ah… Um, glad to hear it?" She winced, hearing the uncertainty in her own voice. Mai had saved them, but it had been only for Zuko's sake, not for the rest of the world or because she really believed the war had to be stopped. Katara was never sure where Mai really stood between the sides of the Avatar and Lord Ozai.

But Zuko laughed, her hesitation breaking the uneasy introductions. "Don't worry, I know what you mean. She can be a little hard to understand, but she'd a good person, Katara. She's even running the kingdom for me while I'm gone."

"And she'll _keep _running the kingdom if you go up against Toph too often while you're here," Katara teased lightly. "I'd bet on her over you any day of the week," she added smugly. Toph, who had been watching the exchange with interest, looked very pleased.

"Hey, I wasn't losing just now," Zuko protested with a frown.

"Suuure you weren't," Katara said soothingly. "I'm sure you were just _letting_ her win."

"I wasn't losing!"

* * *

Off to work. Review if you enjoy the story please.


	4. Never Perfect

Thank you for waiting, everyone. I meant to get this written sooner but between work and unexpectedly adopting a nine week old kitten, I've been a little swamped. Oh, and I have a habit of making avatar amvs under the name Thirddreamer on youtube. I'll try to be quicker from now on. Thank you to everyone who's been supporting this story in their reviews. You are my inspiration to continue.

**The Last Dragon**

Chapter 4: Never Perfect

The Sun Warriors were nothing if not hospitable and the three were soon sitting down to what amounted to a picnic lunch, the tempting smell of sweet meats floating through the air as they turned on a spit. Toph claimed the first piece with relish while the other two were going through the polite 'Oh no, after _you_' dance that was customary for such occasions. When Katara remembered how Toph had been raised in polite society and no doubt _knew_ how to be charming and polite, she realized it had to be a relief for the young earth bender to be able to set such customs aside. And when she saw Toph digging heartily into the Chicken-lizard leg that smelled so good, she couldn't help wishing she'd dropped those polite rules as well.

To pass the time, she turned to Zuko, smiling at the fire bender. It was still a little weird to look at the young man sitting a few yards away and realize he was ruling an entire kingdom. No doubt he had advisors (and even better, Iroh's advice), but he was still responsible for so much. She would have expected the responsibility to sober him a little as it had done with Aang, but Zuko had always been serious. The few times someone had gotten the boy to smile, it was always a bit of a shock how much difference it made to his face.

Come to think of it, Zuko was actually smiling more now than he had during the war. Nothing extravagant or obvious like Toph's perpetual I-Didn't-Do-It grin or her own open and friendly smile but it was there; a slight up curve of the lips and a more relaxed expression. It looked good on him, she decided with a nod.

"Do I have something on my face?"

"Huh?" Katara snapped out of her thoughts to see Zuko watching her with a self conscious expression.

"You were staring at something. I mean, I know I don't look my best but I did just ride an Eel Hound most of the day," he said defensively, twisting his arms and back a little as he looked himself over. Katara bit her lip to smother laughter.

"No, you're fine," she said with a chuckle. "I was just thinking that peace looks good on you."

"Oh." Zuko blinked. "Thanks." He seemed to consider this for a moment, then sighed, leaning back on his hands and stretching out a little. "Things were so complicated during the war, but that was personal. There's a lot to deal with now, but this time, at least I don't have my own enemy sitting there in my head with me." He drew absentmindedly in the dirt, then whipped his hands on his pants.

"I understand," she said. "We all do things we wish we could take back. Say things." She fiddled with her hair, a habit from childhood when she was thinking or uncomfortable. Not many people had ever been on the receiving end of a Katara Tirade, but Zuko knew them well. It still bothered her a bit that a friend would have memories of her with her face twisted into an ugly expression of vengeance and bitter anger. Still, if anyone would understand what could make a person do that, it would be Zuko.

They fell quiet as a few plates of food were brought over and set in front of them. Katara looked up at the tall ancient buildings that surrounded their little gathering. The quiet power of the place was comforting. It had stood for so long, watching everything from the rise of the nations to the destruction of the dragons and following wars. It had seen the best and worst of human kind. She wondered what it thought of them.

Toph was the first to finish, flopping down on her back with a contented sigh. The ground rose up to meet her, shaping itself into a reclining chair. She tucked her hands behind her head and grinned blindly at the sky. "This is the life. A little vacation in the land of dirt and meat. Seriously, what more could you ask for?"

"Teo!" Katara cried happily.

"You want Teo?" Toph asked in confusion.

"No, I mean, it's Teo," Katara laughed. "He's in the air, headed this way."

The air balloon was no longer the harsh red and black of war, instead painted with such a delicate blue and white pattern that it seemed to blend in with the sky. Real skill and artistry had gone into the design and it took her a moment to realize that a thin film of mist actually surrounded the craft, making it fuzzy even after you'd spotted it.

Teo stood laughing and waving good naturedly on the bow before rushing off, presumably to land the craft because it quickly began to descend. Zuko, Toph, and Katara stood at once; racing through the deserted streets towards Teo's likely landing spot. It became a race, hoping over traps and skidding around ancient turns. Toph, of course, was the first to try to trip someone up, the walkway shifting under him and dumping the Fire Lord on his royal rear. Katara had laughed until she'd all but landed on top of him in the same manner.

A quick nod and identical grins meant the game was in motion. Fire, water and earth ran through the abandoned streets with shouts that leaned more towards laughter than the indignant rage they were going for. Toph was suddenly blinded by ice under her feet, shrieking down the first water-bender slip-n-slide. Zuko countered the move with a quick blast that vaporized Katara's water, steam making it impossible her to see. He himself vaulted onto higher ground and out of the way of the clouds and spray. His smirk vanished as the building gave way, courtesy a recovered Toph.

By the time they actually made it to Teo's landing site, Toph was soaked, Katara appeared to have attended King Bumi's hair salon, and Zuko was still trying to pick bits of gravel out of his hair.

"Hey guys!" Teo called from the deck of the air ship, wheeling himself down the ramp. "I- Woah." The boy half tried to hide his laughter as he looked over the trio, giving up and doubling over. He subsided when he caught Zuko's scowl, lips still twitching in unspent laughter. "I'm g-glad to see you all made it safely," he tried to say a bit more seriously.

"You too, Teo," Katara said, trying to bring her hair back to earth. "How's your dad?"

"He's doing fine. He's been trying to work on improving the individual gliders. He's convinced he can make a miniature air ship. But last month he was trying to research bending family trees and the month before that he was trying to make take-offs quicker with a few well placed explosives. "

The four were soon back at the fire site, Toph going a little ahead as they walked to make the ruins wheelchair accessible. Between Teo's lighthearted competitive nature and Toph's more blunt need for challenges, it wasn't long before the two were going over the entire city.

"Well, I can't say they shouldn't have seen this coming," Zuko pointed out. He and Katara were watching from a safe distance as the Sun Warriors and Chief tried to keep Toph's renovations under control. "If they expected this place to be the same after Toph had stayed here a week, maybe they need to come back to the real world a bit more often."

"Well Teo's not exactly helping" Katara tugged a comb through her hair in frustration. Half an hour of brushing and it was starting to resemble what it once was. "He keeps shouting out angles and suggestions for improved placement. He's a lot like his dad."

"His dad wouldn't really try to launch something with a blast of fire would he?" Zuko asked skeptically. He'd never really met the inventor and had a hard time believing Teo wasn't exaggerating just a bit.

"Probably," Katara shrugged. "He _was_ the one who blew half an army off the cliffside when the fir- when they were attacking the Air Temple." She winced at the slip. But… was it really a slip? It _had_ been the Fire Nation that attacked. But she'd glanced up as she spoke and as soon as the words had started to come out of her mouth, Zuko had gone cold. He wasn't angry, at least not at her. Here was not tightening of the hands into fists or flash of fury in the expressive golden eyes. It was just like he'd pulled back, pulled himself away from the conversation. Immediately she regretted even mentioning it.

"Zuko, I-,"

"It's alright," he said. He smiled and she hated the smile. It was the same one she'd seen Aang give to strangers when they brought up his past or tried to ignore his advice under the excuse of things he'd done wrong or even not quite perfectly enough.

"It's _not_ alright," she demanded, feeling the childish urge to stomp her foot and glare at him with her hands on her hips. "You know I didn't mean _your_ fire nation. I wasn't even talking about that."

"It's all MY Fire Nation, Katara," Zuko insisted and she was selfishly glad to see the fake smile fade into real worry and annoyance. "The good, the bad, the history and the future. I can't be Fire Lord if I don't embrace that my people are. I can't fix what's been done if I don't constantly keep in my mind what happened before. If I don't want to repeat the mistakes of my ancestors-"

"That is such whale blubber, Zuko, and you know it," she interjected.

Zuko bit back a flash of anger. It had been a long time since anyone had interrupted him, let alone corrected him about something to do with his country. His advisors always told him if they thought he was wrong about something, but they did it politely, waiting for him to finish, laying out all the facts for him and then showing him very inoffensively what he might have missed. Not once since his reign had someone cut him off and told him he was full of 'whale blubber' as she'd put it.

"Well what do you know?" he asked. "You've never run a country like mine. You've never run a country at all! You don't even belong to one. You're part of the some little water village at the bottom of the world who's main topic of conversation is whether it's too cold to go penguin sledding!"

"Well at least I'm not so self-absorbed as to think I caused every bad thing out there to happen. You've got such an ego, Zuko! You aren't responsible for the past and brooding over it isn't going to keep it from happening again. The _future_ is where your responsibility lies so stop trying to rewrite history!"

There was silence for a moment as the two glared at eachother. Zuko's hands were giving off a faint smell of smoke and the water in a pot near the fire was trembling violently. Then Zuko broke the staring match to blink.

"Hey. I do not have an ego!" he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You do too," Katara said, sticking her tongue out.

"I don't!" Zuko shook his head. "I don't think I'm better than everyone or that I'm really good looking or show off my wealth or anything."

"Oh come on, you don't think you do that a little?" Katara teased, the mood slowly lightening. "I've heard about your fan club, you know. That little parade of women that stand outside the palace gates to get a look at you."

"What?" Zuko flushed and Katara counted the color as a victory. "I- That's not my fault. Mai's managed to scare most of them away anyway," he added as an afterthought.

"What all of them?" Katara grinned. "Even the one who used to make up poems about your hair?"

Zuko groaned. "How do you know about her? You haven't even been staying in the fire nation or anything."

"Word gets around," Katara said with a pleased smirk, making a mental note to thank the rather gossipy Fire Nation soldier who had been working in the group she'd been leading before being called out to the Fire Nation for this new egg. Who knew she'd ever have a chance to rub Zuko's face in it? Or that it would be so very satisfying.

"I mean I don't even like my hair that much," Zuko mumbled, playing with a stray strand. His usual head piece that designated him as the Fire Lord was packed away for the moment. It wasn't like he'd have to prove his identity to anyone here so it wouldn't be any real use until the actual ceremony. "It never sits flat. Well, it did one time, but even the girl said it didn't look right. It took uncle an hour to get right and she just mussed it up in half a second."

The idea of Zuko on a date (if that was what he was describing) couldn't really focus for Katara. She just couldn't see it. Well… maybe. He did have a polite air when he wanted to. She could see him being a 

really old fashioned kind of date, opening doors for the girl, walking her home. _And probably looking completely miserable at the same time,_ she couldn't help adding.

"I wouldn't worry about it Zuko," she said with a grin. "Your hair looks better messy anyway." Just to antagonize him she reached up and messed with it, grinning. He pulled away and scowled at her, but just for a moment she'd caught a smile. And this time, it was a real one.

"_Toph Bei Fong that statue has stood for longer than your family has been in existence and you will remove the sunhat and false beard THIS INSTANT!" _

"Sounds like the Chief is starting to regret his invitation," Katara laughed a little too loudly, taking a few steps away. "I'm just going to go. And help. Because you know, it's Toph." Katara ran towards the commotion, shouting loudly for Toph to knock off whatever she was doing under the threat of freezing the girl's feet in ice for a week but her mind was on the sudden awkwardness back with Zuko. It was never awkward with Zuko. When she spoke to Zuko, nothing was ever held back. She'd once threatened to kick him into inexistence, told him about her mother and he was the same way, shouting or sharing depending on the mood without hiding anything.

Awkward around Zuko was just… weird. Gods, was he right? Could she still not disconnect the fact that he was fire nation from who he was? She gritted her teeth hard, setting her mind against it. No way. No way was she going to be like those predjudice idiots she had to track down on a regular basis because they didn't realize that 'Fire nation' was no longer synonymous with 'Evil'. All she had to do was remember the moment of lightning and death to remember that Zuko was as much of a hero as any of them had ever been or would be.

When she arrived, about ten full grown Sun Warriors were looking half ready to run in face of Toph and Teo's strange combination. Teo had more ideas than he knew what to do with but Toph seemed to match each word with a resulting action. After listening for a few moments Katara came to understand that Toph and Teo wanted to improve on the booby traps around the temples. The Sun Chief was countering with the argument that he'd like his men to live if they wanted to leave their rooms at night.

"Ms. Be Fong," the Chief seemed to be trying to come to grips with the idea that he actually had to reason with the tiny girl in front of him instead of simply telling her what he wanted. "You need to 

understand that significant changes in the structure of the temple would alert outsiders to our existence."

"Not the way _I'd_ set it up," Toph crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Dead men tell no tales, right?"

"Actually we could probably improve the potentially deadly ones into something more sophisticated," Teo added, adding a reasonably persuasive voice to Toph's blunt arguments. "You'd be able to interrogate trespassers instead of scraping them off spikes. "

"I don't doubt what you could do, only-"

"Wait!" Toph shoved her hand in the man's face, surprising him into silence. She nearly dove to the ground, pressing her hands tightly against the dirt. "Teo," Toph demanded instantly. "Could you have been followed?"

"Toph what are you-?" Katara started to ask.

"There's sand benders! Here!" Toph's alarm was clear in her wide eyes. "They just felt like a strong wind pushing dirt around when they were farther way but, it's got to be them. I recognize the shifting pattern!"

"That's impossible," the Chief shook his head. "You can't sand bend through a jungle."

"I'm telling you!" Toph shouted. "I'm not making this up." She turned towards Katara and the water bender's eyes narrowed.

"If Toph says there's trouble, there's trouble," Katara said. "We have to move quickly. Where are they, Toph?"

"It's so hard to pin down," Toph growled, concentrating hard and pushing her hands farther until she was up to her forearms in dirt. "Headed for the back wall around the side from a northerly direction."

The chief's eyes widened. "The egg," he whispered. His words were punctuated with a catastrophic bang as the High Temple began to fall.

* * *

Voting time! Teo and Toph. Good friends or potential love interest? Rest assured, it wouldn't be a quick 'OMG I LIKE YOU' situation, but I can see the potential there. Teo's got his own competitive streak and could definitely keep Toph interested, whether as a friend or as a crush. I'd like to know what the readers would prefer.

If you enjoyed the story, please review.


	5. Sandbenders

**The Last Dragon**

Chapter 5: Sandbenders

"Surround to the temple!" the high priest bellowed to the Sun Warriors as everyone broke into a run. "Protect the egg!"

Katara cupped her hands around her mouth, trying to make herself heard over the roar of war cries and tumbling rock. "Toph! Get to the egg! You'll be able to get through to it the quickest. Zuko and I will cover you as you go."

Zuko was shouting at the same time, improvising on Katara's plan. "Teo, get the ship in the air and give us some cover. From there you can tell us if more are coming." Teo nodded and gave Zuko a quick salute with a worried smile on his face. Then he was away.

The first of their enemies were finally beginning to appear as Toph, Zuko, and Katara ran through the streets. They were indeed sand benders, dressed almost exactly like the ones they'd seen long ago in the desert. The memory of the encounter must have been as fresh in Toph's mind as it was in Katara's because the young earth bender moved like a woman possessed, the earth shifting to her whim with barely a flick of her hands. With a yell of defiance Toph tried to raise the walls as the brick and stone began to shift into sand but had to abandon her efforts as she was attacked. The wall fell.

Katara ran behind and to the left as Zuko stayed behind and to the right, both of them watching as their enemies began pouring through the gaps in the walls, bypassing traps and mazes as they raced towards the heart of the ruins in bunches of three to five. All of them were headed straight as an arrow to the temple where the egg lay.

Ahead Katara could see the temple's defenses crumbling as the Sand benders twisted the ground under the temple's very foundation, watching as stairs and walls began to collapse. The air around them roared as the ancient civilization was destroyed.

"Do they want to steal the egg or just break it?" she heard Zuko mutter through gritted teeth. A quick sound to her left and Katara whirled on an attacker, a tentacle of water lashing out at a sand bender. The man fell as a second took his place, this one meeting her lash with a blast of sand that met her water and sucked it in, like a wave vanishing onto the beach. When she tried to simply draw the water back into the air, the sand clung to it, weighing down her water and making it difficult to control. Her attacks were easily dodged and she swore she saw a smirk in the eyes of the nearest bender. Feeling sluggish and restricted, Katara cried out in frustration and forced her water out of the sand with a sudden surge of adrenaline, this time sending a barrage of ice sharp as darts to pin the attacker to the ground below.

She was successful but had lost precious time. Turning, she saw Zuko faced his own problem. Instead of attacking him directly, two sand benders were shifting the ground below him, sucking in his feet until he couldn't run or even dodge as a third sent blast after blast of sand directly at his face, forcing Zuko to hold his breath or risk dirt and sand being forced into his lungs. His face was bleeding from thousands of tiny cuts as the sand wore down his skin.

Raging at the enemies who were attacking the fire bender, she blocked the assault with a wall of ice, throwing it in front of Zuko without thinking. He immediately pulled his legs out of the earth, scowling at her. "You're supposed to be protecting Toph!" he yelled, sprinting towards the temple.

"I- Toph- …You were closer!" Katara sputtered and growled, pulling the ice and water back from the wall and projecting it under her feet as she skated quickly after him. "You're welcome, by the way…." She muttered under her breath.

Ahead she could see Toph straining as the young woman tried to single handedly counteract the damage done to the temple by at least a dozen sand benders. Sweat glistened on Toph's brow, face set in a stony grimace. "I can't hold it!" she yelled desperately as they neared her, her arms and legs trembling subtly in the bright sun.

"It's too late for the temple," Zuko decided, sending a fiery kick at the nearest sand bender. "Get the egg and we'll get out of here."

Though he sounded calm, Zuko's mind was furious. How were a bunch of sand benders beating them? True, they were heavily outnumbered, even with the help of the Sun Warriors, but they'd gone against the best in the nations! He'd defeated Azula and banished her, Toph single-handedly whipped the best underground fighters in the earth kingdom before even leaving home, Katara had nearly beaten a Water bending Master _before_ she'd been trained and he'd personally seen her stop a torrent of rain in midair. Against a bunch of sandbenders, they shouldn't have had a problem. But instead they were going to be lucky simply to get out of there without serious injury. Maybe if they had those dragons to help… but no. The secret of the dragons wasn't his to give away. And if they lost the egg, keeping those Ran and Shaw secret would be even more important.

He deflected attack after attack directed at Toph as she drove herself up the stairs towards the egg. He noted grimly that most of the attacks on Toph were airborne, the direction she was least likely to detect. Katara's water was incapacitated, his breath and stance were compromised, Toph's blindness was taken advantage of… These desert bandits had done their research.

Toph reappeared at the top of the temple steps, the egg tucked carefully under her arm. She immediately shielded herself with an umbrella of hard earth that moved with her as she ran. A shadow passed overhead and Zuko looked up to see Teo riding high above them in the air balloon. The little ship looked worse for the wear, a few broken boards jutting out near the bottom and hooks with frayed ropes still stuck in the stern. No wonder it had taken him so long to appear.

Teo whistled and threw down a rope ladder that grazed the ground next to Zuko. Zuko grabbed the end and flung it at Katara. "Get to the ship!" he called. "I'll get Toph."

Katara looked ready to protest, then nodded, scrambling up the ladder as fast as she could. Sand wrapped around her leg, trying to shake her loose but she managed to pull free, ignoring the gash the sand whip had carved in her leg. What disturbed her the most was how close the attack had resembled her water whip. Was it possible the sand benders were able to learn her moves so quickly? It had taken her months to perfect!

Pushing it out of her mind, she concentrated on helping Teo protect the small ship. Her water supply had been greatly reduced in the fight but she had enough to help block the hooks that threatened to pull the ship back to the earth. Ahead she could see Zuko and Toph fighting back to back on the crumbling temple steps, Toph holding the ground steady under their feet as she projected an earthen shield around them, Zuko blasting flames through any openings the enemy was able to make in it.

"Zuko!" Katara shouted once they were close enough that Zuko could reach the ladder. Toph barely managed to hang onto the egg as Zuko grabbed her around the waist after hooking his arm on the rope ladder.

"Got it, go!" Zuko yelled. The airship shuddered with effort and then suddenly yanked them upwards, Zuko and Toph trailing underneath. It was hard for the ship to rise too far, but Teo did his best, swerving away from the largest concentrations of sandbenders. The benders of the small group each took station at a side of the ship, deflecting attacks away from the vulnerable balloon. Shouts of "Zuko, behind you!" and "Teo, lookout!" were thrown back and forth.

Part of Zuko was still astounded at how it felt to work with a team he could rely on. He'd commanded men before, legions of soldiers willing to obey a single word, but this was different. He didn't have to watch the others to be sure they were doing their job, he just knew. He didn't have to instruct them, didn't have to take orders. Even Azula had in the end worked with a small team and he wondered, not for the first time, how he could have bared to be alone so long. If Uncle had given up on him…

His thoughts were interrupted when he saw a lone sandbender below and just a little to the right of where they were flying. Up until that moment sandbenders had always been in groups of three, sometimes more. An expression too angry to have been a smile darted over his lips and he began to climb over the ship's railing.

"Zuko! Are you nuts?" Teo asked, his breathing coming in pants and gasps as he struggled to hold the ship together, fighting with the wheel of his airship. "We just got you [i]up here[/i]. We won't be able to circle back like this!"

"I'm going to get answers," Zuko said stubbornly. "This attack was too well coordinated for bunch of sandbenders. If the earth kingdom's about to betray us, I have to find out. Get the egg out of here. I'll catch up."

"Zuko!" But he was gone, sliding down the rope ladder until there was a passing tree branch he could grab on to.

"Where is he?" Toph demanded, angrily knocking back attack after attack.

"There," Katara growled. "I see him. Toph, stay with Teo and the egg. I'm going to help Zuko." Mimicking the fire bender's movements, she too made it to the trees and then the ground. The rough bark made for easy gripping and she was thankful her hands had built up such thick calluses over the years. She came down from the tree and landed so close to Zuko he all but caught her.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed, keeping his voice low.

"Helping," Katara snapped back. "Now where'd you see the sandbender?" As the airship moved farther and farther away, the attacks went with it and the two were left with the returning sounds of the jungle. Zuko nodded ahead of them and the two crept through the woods side by side. Soon Katara could see him. He was sitting against a tree, hunched over his leg. They moved a bit closer and both saw the man hadd been injured, the lower leg bent at a nasty angle.

Zuko glanced at Katara and the two were on the sand bender in an instant. The man reached for his bag and found his wrists frozen to the ground. He drew in a breath, ready to shout for help. Zuko's hand darted out and clamped hard over the man's mouth. "Give us away and it'll be the last sound you make this side of the spirit world," he promised.

"Why did you attack us? Who planned it?" Katara demanded. Zuko glared at the man and slowly took his hand away, flames dancing dangerously on the tips of his fingers. The sand bender eyed Zuko nervously, eyes darting between the two angry teens in front of him.

"I-" And that was as far as the man got. With a groan he suddenly slumped over, landing face first on the ground. Zuko and Katara stared at him for a moment, then cautiously bent down to examine him.

"Is he faking?" Katara asked. The small shake in her voice said she knew it wasn't true.

"Look," Zuko pointed to a small dart stuck into the man's neck. "I didn't even see it hit him!" he said furiously, standing up and looking around desperately for their informant's assassin. The forest around them gave away nothing.

"It's got the earth kingdom's symbol on it," Katara said after a moment, still crouched by the fallen body. "In gold. Royal. You don't think?"

Zuko didn't answer, trying to find a trace of a footprint or some other sign nearby. His head was spinning. Treachery by the earth kingdom. Was it really possible? It couldn't be true. His mind refused to believe it. His stomach dropped as he realized this would have been the same shock most people would have felt when the Fire nation had started the war over a hundred years ago. Not for the first time he cursed his ancestor's insanity.

"Teo and Toph will get the egg to safety," he said finally, giving up his pursuit. "We should catch up to them."

It then occurred to both Katara and Zuko that neither of them had any idea where they were. The thick jungle surrounded them on all sides. If they'd been on Appa, both might have been able to see the direction of the temple but things were so much more confusing below the canopy. The calls of birds and the rustle of leaves echoed around them for a few minutes as each pondered their predicament.

"Alright well… my Gran always taught me to go downhill when lost," Katara said after a moment. "Water rolls downhill so we should be able to find some kind of stream or river at the lowest part of the land. And where there's water, there's bound to be some kind of settlement. Besides, we're going to want water soon."

"We should go uphill," Zuko protested. "If we get clear of all these trees, we'll be able to figure out a way back to the temple and borrow some kind of mount from them."

"Zuko, they never_ leave _the temple," Katara rolled her eyes. "Why would they have any way to travel?"

"We'll still be able to better see where we are," he scowled at her, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Great. We'll have a really wonderful view of the village we might have actually _found_ if we did it my way," Katara smirked.

"You don't even know there's a village around here!" Zuko pointed out.

"Which means there won't be anything for you to see on your mountaintop either."

They glowered at each other for a few seconds. Zuko was the first to break the staring contest as he threw up his hands in exasperation. "Fine! Downhill it is. No wonder your people ended up at the ends of the earth with that kind of directional logic…" He finished with a mutter. Katara stuck her tongue out at him and they were off.


	6. Fire Lilies

Merry [belated] Christmas. This is just a short chapter to say I'm back and to see if anyone is interested in me continuing. If you are, please leave a note. Thank you.

**The Last Dragon**

Chapter 6: Fire Lillies

Zuko was being eaten alive. Every blood sucking mosquito and mite in the fire nation seemed to want a bite of him and he was beginning to wonder how he had any blood left. Their trek through the jungles of fire Nation wilderness hadn't produced a single sign of civilization and it was taking every inch of his self control not to rub it in Katara's face. For a while they'd discovered a stream and had followed the water's path hopefully, but it had disappeared into some dense, thorny bushes and was lost.

Gold eyes darted sideways, casting a surreptitious glance over the water bender. Katara looked about as miserable as he felt. Zuko was at least built for the heat, had spent the summers of his childhood learning to love the heat the way any child loves those things that so thoroughly represent home. Katara had not. Her saw her wipe away the sweat that trickled down the side of her brow, humidity making her steps more sluggish as the day wore on. She was a child of the snow and ice and even the years spend exploring the world, both before the world and after, couldn't have completely prepared her for an element so contrary to her nature.

"We can stop for a bit," Zuko said, keeping all hints of pity or concern from his voice. If Katara thought someone was babying her she'd press on until night fall. "These bugs are killing me." Katara nodded, slapping one off her own arm. Both were thirsty, conserving the bit of water Katara had left over from their fight with the sand benders. The plants around them were of course thick with juice and water, but Zuko admitted he wasn't completely sure which of the thousands of species around them weren't poisonous and Katara wasn't sure she'd be completely able to separate the water from the sap. Too much longer and they'd have to try, but in the meantime they'd agreed to play it safe.

Zuko leaned back against one of the trees as Katara took a seat on a root, rubbing at her ankles. A hint of a smile passed over his face as he watched her scowl and smack away another blood-sucker. "So I guess Fire Nation beats water bender, huh?" he couldn't resist goading her a bit. Katara stuck her tongue out at him.

"Like you'd do any better in the middle of the water tribe ice burgs," she retorted, pushing her hair out of her eyes to look up at him. "You'd probably be eaten by a lion seal."

Zuko responded without thinking. "I don't know. I did alright at the north pole, didn't I?" He only realized what he'd been saying as the last few words left his mouth. How could he have been so stupid? He was overwhelmed for a moment in memories of the rage and the drive of anger that had fueled him when he'd first arrived at the Northern water tribe's city. He could remember the determination and hate hat had coursed through his veins like boiling poison, sustaining his fire as he burned his way into one of the water nation's most sacred sanctuaries, determined to capture a child because he had been born to save the world his people were set to destroy. And standing as clear as any other memory was the look of shock and then disgust on the face of the young woman sitting just an arm's length away from him now. He forced himself to look at her, ready to see the same echoes in her eyes now.

Instead, she was smiling. As though she were _pleased_ that he was joking about one of the worst encounters they'd ever had. It shocked him right out of his regretful melancholy.

"You sure you want to brag about the time you got your butt handed to you by an untrained, younger bender?" she asked with a smirk. "I wish I had a painting of your stuck to the wall to help jog that memory."

"You weren't untrained," Zuko said, still fighting down the surprise at her lack of a real reaction. "You'd been training with Master What's-his-name, the one who married your Grandmother."

"So you're saying that training with a water bending master for a week is better than training with a fire bending master for… how long had you been training again?" The smirk on her face was growing.

"That's not what I… stop laughing! You didn't win you know!" But he wasn't sure Katara could hear a word he'd said over the loud laughter that was now echoing through the jungle.

* * *

"Avatar Aang, we are honored by your presence." The monk ducked his head in a low bow and Aang tried not to act surprised that they had recognized him. Finding the lost order had taken almost as long as discovering it had even existed. It was a holy place, not even named beyond the painfully inadequate title of Meditation Hall. How had a place so isolated known what he looked like?

Aang barely remembered to respectfully return the bow before giving into the temptation to look away from the man and around at the temple that surrounded them. High walls and ceilings of polished wood as hard and dark as obsidian arched overhead, sending echoes of the smallest breath from one end of the room to the other. It was magnificent. Aang thought he could feel the spirits press around him, anxious to be heard in a place where the living and spirit world's distance apart was paper thin.

"We have prepared a private room for your journey into the spirit world," the monk was saying. "Your body will be well protected and you will have space to meditate."

"I feel like I could just jump into the spirit world right now," Aang admitted. "This place is incredible." He put one hand out to touch a tiny flowered vine that was creeping in a nearby windowsill. It shuddered at his touch and then turned towards the sun. Aang poked it again but this time it did not move.

The room was bare except for a small cot and a small bowl of fruit. Aang's mind immediately went to the large flying bison and the sharp pang of loneliness hit him. Appa would probably be back from giving Katara a ride to the Sun Warrior's temple. Both Appa and Momo would have to wait for him in the nearest town. The guide that had brought him to this place had explained that they would not be welcome at the temple. Aang privately thought that the guide was an idiot but had decided not to press the issue.

Putting the fruit on the cot he sat in the middle of the room and began to meditate. The room seemed to shrink around him, air pressing through his skin and lifting his spirit from the confines of his skin. Aang smiled, opened his eyes, and gasped.

The spirit world, once akin to a lush (albeit dangerous) forest, was bare. His feet rested on what he first thought was snow but upon further investigation he discovered was ash. The skeletal remains of what might have once been trees spotted the ground here and there. The stink of decay made even his spirit self want to gag.

"Oh spirits," Aang cried softly. "It's getting worse."

He had not told anyone except the Guru and a few other very spiritual people just how bad the spirit world had become. Every one of them had at first thought that it would begin to heal as soon as the Phoenix king was defeated but with each visit more of the invisible land had crumbled into dust and cinders.

"Aargh!" Aang dropped to his knees, pounding one fist on the ground in helpless frustration. "What do you want? How can I help? Tell me!" The only answer was his own breath and the distant throb of his own heartbeat. "Katara…" Aang whispered to himself. "What do I do?"

* * *

The sun was sinking behind the mountains and the air began to cool. Katara's spirits seemed to rise the closer it got to nightfall. She glanced around the haphazard "path" they were following, noticing now the bright red flowers that were sprinkled here and there among the greenery.

"I've seen those before," she said, pointing to one. Zuko glanced to what she meant and then nodded.

"Fire-lilies. They were some of my mother's favorite flowers." He stopped to pick one of the ruby colored flowers, running a thumb over one of the petals. " They're actually a really good sign. Fire lilies are usually in meadows so it probably means the forest opens up somewhere around here. They don't bloom very often and-"

He was cut off as a shrill whistle soared through the air over them, a sudden burst of light and color in the sky dancing overhead as the sky continued to darken. Fireworks! "And a lot of villages have a festival for them!" he finished, tilting his head back as another explosion spewed red stars into the sky. Zuko and Katara grinned at each other and without needing to say another word began to run, their footsteps keeping perfect time as they sprinted towards the festival.

Again, if you're still interested please let me know. I'm trying to decide whether to continue or move on to something else.


	7. Spirit Dance

This chapter dedicated to the lovely Nephertiri who left a wonderful long review. I love long reviews. ^^ But honestly, reviewing at all is a big thing for me. So I'd also like to thank Sareon, Kamikashi, Iggywhitdog, bvc17, KraZiiePyrozHavemoreFun, and of course Gigi. I missed you! You may recognize something in this chapter I put in for you.

I really like this chapter. It's a nice full one to make up for the shorter one I posted the other day. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

**The Last Dragon**

Chapter 7: Spirit Dance

Azalon was the first person to see them come out of the woods. He'd been lighting the rose colored lanterns that stood at the village gates, trying to look down over his ample belly to be sure he wasn't going to twist his ankle in a gopher-squirrel hole. A little ways away on the edge of the woods the grass stirred and a cloud of fire-flies rose into the air, dancing around the two strangers in a mad whirl. For a moment he thought they were racing but how could they be when one stumbled and the other grabbed for a hand as they laughingly pulled themselves across an invisible finish line.

"No need to rush, slow down!" he called, holding up his hands with a smile and discreetly moving the torch away from the silly teenagers. "The festival has only just begun. Plenty of time to find a mask and join the celebration."

"Masks?" the girl asked once she'd caught her breath. There was a leaf stuck in her hair, though she didn't seem to mind. Instead her eyes were fixed behind him where the edges of stalls were peaking around the houses and the sweet scent of honeyed meats was beginning to scent the air. She didn't look at all embarrassed to have been caught playing in the woods, unlike her companion who had immediately adopted a more composed manor the instant Azalon had spoken.

"Straight over that way," the man said, nodding towards the center of town. "Big stall. Fellow who sells them is a master at it, though you can't tell him I said that," Azalon added hastily. "It'd go straight to his head, I'm sure. Where you two from anyway?"

"What good are masks without a little mystery?" the boy interjected smoothly before the girl could answer. Azalon raised an eyebrow and then laughed grudgingly. "Alright, fair enough. Kids…" he shook his head and his expression had much to say about the state of today's youth as he went back to lighting the string of lamps.

"What was that about?" Katara asked once they were out of earshot, keeping her voice low.

"I just don't think we should advertise our presence right away," Zuko said quietly. "I don't want to have to go looking for another village if this one turns out to be Ozai supporting, do you?"

"I guess I didn't realize things were that bad," she admitted.

"They're not," Zuko said quickly. "It's just better to be careful. The more isolated people are, the more fixated on an idea they become. That guy didn't even recognize us. We're in the middle of nowhere." They stopped talking as they began to be surrounded by people. Nearly everyone was in a mask of red or green, smiling through eye holes or around bright face paint. Laughter rose though the air and there was a distant sound of music. A little girl with fire lilies in her hair ran by, yelling and waving her firsts at a giggling boy who was trying to shove a cookie the size of his own head into his cheeks.

Zuko spotted the display of masks first, eyes lingering on a familiar blue face. He nudged Katara and slipped her some fire nation money. He didn't have much, but outright theft in such a small town wouldn't go unnoticed. And Katara would probably object, though she had surprised him about things like that before.

"What are the masks for?" Katara asked him as she examined the display. She ran her fingers over a bone white visor with a large plume of red feathers hanging from one side.

"There's a fire nation fairy-tale about the fire lilies," Zuko answered. "Something about a spirit. I think. Father wasn't big on fairy tales and mother could never get Azula to lay still enough to finish most of them." He picked up the blue mask. Katara was holding straw hat and a veil, her lips curved into a smile.

"I'll be right back," she said. Zuko started to protest but Katara was out of sight, her dark hair swaying behind her as she vanished into the crowd. Zuko scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. Things were a lot simpler when he'd traveled with people required by law to listen to him. She wouldn't do this to Aang, would she? Why did all the women in his life feel the need to ignore every word he said?

"A blue demon mask?" the seller asked. "That's not a very popular choice you know. How about gold? Gold would look good I'd wager." The mask-maker was a small man, balding head valiantly defended by a few lingering dark hair that were swept over the largest patch of skin at the top of his head. He was wiry and moved like he had balloons tied to his feet, taking steps that had more up to them than was really needed.

"I thought it looked more like a spirit," Zuko said. "Just this part here should be white. This part, around…" he pointed and the man nodded thoughtfully. In a second he'd whipped out a paintbrush and a small pot of white paint. For Zuko it was like watching a dubious old friend come back to life. The Blue Spirit had been a thief and almost a murderer. It was not something Zuko was proud of, but it was something he knew. Thanking the man and adding as much of a tip as he could spare, Zuko slipped it on.

"Good fit." The Mask-maker nodded, looking pleased with the effect. "So maybe it's not a demon. But it's certainly no sweet spirit you've got there. Then how's your spirit better than a demon?" Looking a tad smug the man lifted the edge of the cart and began to slowly make his way down the street, the masks clacking against the wood in an almost musical rhythm.

"Hmmm. Well I suppose I didn't really expect you to choose one of the flower masks," Katara said, coming up on his right and examining the azure fanged mask. Zuko stared. Katara must have found some face paints in one of the stalls. A red pattern was now creeping around the edges of her face, rimming her eyes in red and framing her cheeks in an almost fierce design. The hat and veil had been combined, giving her a wispy and ethereal appearance. Matching red marks ringed her upper arms and Zuko realized that rather than helping her blend in, the fire nation costume made the young woman stand out significantly. With her hair combed and her face no longer hampered by dirt, she was bound to make a few heads turn.

"It's the Painted Lady," Katara said. "She's a fire nation river spirit. I thought it would be… appropriate. And she's the only Fire Nation costume I could think of." Katara admitted.

"Looks great," Zuko looked away from her and down the street. "But it's kind of elaborate isn't it? We really should just find something to eat and a place to sleep."

"Are you always this paranoid?" Katara asked him. Zuko scowled. Katara smirked a little. Zuko's scowl deepened until he realized she couldn't see it behind his mask.

"I promise we won't stay long," Katara said. "But we really should find out if we're safe here before we try to sleep. And remember, if this is the nearest village, there's a good chance whoever assassinated the sand bender we captured could be here as well."

Zuko straightened up at that. She was right. With the masks in place they'd be able to move and listen without attracting any more attention than the rest of the people in the festival and they could very well pick up something useful. "Let's get going then." His stomach rumbled. "The, uh, meats stand first though."

* * *

"It's no use," Teo shook his head even though he knew his companion wouldn't be able to see. "The trees are too thick. I couldn't see it if an entire arm was walking right below us, let alone two people."

"Just keep your eyes open," Toph said, sitting on a crate near the back of the small flying ship. The dragon's egg was nestled in a soft blanket on her lap. "Sooner or later one of them will say something stupid to the other and we'll hear a huge whoosh of fire or water to mark their spot."

"I hope it's fire," the young man said. "It's going to be too dark to see water soon. And I'm not so sure about them fighting anyway, I think they get along alright now," Teo said, rolling his chair to the back with her, one hand on the rudder that steered the craft along the air currents. "They've saved each other's lives more than once. Katara and Zuko haven't hated each other for a long time."

"Hate doesn't have anything to do with fighting," Toph said in surprise. "I love my family and I still can't have two words with my mother without us fighting. It's like a bonding thing. Probably."

"You don't fight with me," Teo pointed out. "What's that mean about us?"

"We're smarter than the rest of the world," Toph answered without missing a beat. "Now find an open space so I can get my feet back on the ground."

"Yes ma'am," Teo chuckled.

"See what I mean? Smart."

* * *

The sky was alight with stars against the now black sky. Or maybe they were fire flies. Katara wasn't sure since she never had more than a moment at a time to spare a glance upwards. The streets were alive with chatter and music. The girl in pigtails was squirming on a chair as bright red beads were woven into the black strands of her hair. A couple of men were toasting everything they could think of, looking for more excuses for further alcohol. A young couple held hands as the boy whispered in the girl's ear and she blushed and looked rather thrilled. Katara glanced sideways at Zuko and bit her lip to keep from laughing at the mask again. It was just so…_ happy_, even if it was a frightening face. It didn't seem to fit Zuko at all, but he insisted it was what he wanted to wear.

They passed a puppet show and Katara stopped. The last fire nation puppet show she'd seen had been pure fire nation war propaganda. If it was the same show, it would prove the small village to still be supporters of the former Lord Ozai.

"…legend of the Fire Spirit and the Lily. Long ago there was a small fire spirit that kept charge of a small lantern that hung in the gate tower of a small town." As the words were read somewhere behind the little theater, a puppet with dark hair, red eyes, and a sweet expression was lifted up into view. The children cheered and some of the adults smiled the same way her Gran-gran did when someone told the story of the moon. "When the town was in danger, the spirit would light the lantern to warn the villagers and they would keep very still and silent, ready with their weapons, until the spirit put the light out again."

"The spirit was proud of his work and loved the town, but because he was a spirit he was very lonely." On stage the little dark haired puppet sagged a bit and some of the children reached forward, trying to comfort it. "One day it looked down from its tower and saw in the field outside of the walls a little flower nymph peeking in through the cracks in the gate. She was bright red, the same ruby color as his own flame and the little fire spirit fell instantly in love." On stage the first puppet was joined by a female with crimson skin and petals coming down in a skirt around her, green leaves mimicking hair on her head.

"The fire spirit called down to ask what she was doing there at the gate. The flower replied that she was a Lily and had only ever grown in the field. Some nights she had seen the humans holding celebrations or dancing and was hoping to sneak in to join them for a night as she was as lonely as he had been, tending to her flowers alone for the whole of her life."

"The Spirit promised her that he would make sure she was invited to the next celebration if she would only wait five days and that he would come down and open the gate for her himself. The next night the spirit lit the lantern. The town huddle in fear, tensed for the attack, but none came. There was not even the sound of an army passing by nor monsters creeping past the gates. The spirit lit the lantern again the next night and again the village waited to be attacked. This happened once more and then the village decided to send their most spiritual wise-woman to the tower to ask the spirit what was wrong."

"The spirit told the wise-woman that he wanted to dance with the fire lily at the next night's festival, but was afraid to leave the town he loved unguarded. When she relayed his message, the village realized that they had been taking their guardian spirit for granted and promised him that the festival would not last one night, but three (which was as long as the Fire Lily Nymph could safely leave her flowers) so that he could dance with the Lily as long as he wanted and someone else would watch for danger in the tower.

"The spirit proudly opened the gates, but the Fire Lily immediately hid. She knew her skin and appearance were strange and began to feel self conscious about dancing among the humans. The spirit refused to return without her and so the village donned masks and costumes, making themselves as bright as they could, though of course nothing could match the glow of the Lily and the Fire Spirit.

"So each year when the Fire Lily is in bloom the Fire Spirit finds her at the gate and they put on masks to dance together and bring warmth and color to the village for another year."

Childish cheers and applause brought Katara back out of the story and she joined in clapping. Zuko was beside her, also listening and clapping softly. "Who knew the fire nation were such romantics?" she whispered just loud enough for him to hear. Someone was tugging at her skirt and Katara looked down. A girl maybe six years old was standing by her leg, looking up through a sparking red mask.

"Are you the Fire Lily?" she asked in the kind of child's whisper that ends up being louder than a normal speaking voice. "I won't tell, I promise." She clung to Katara's skirt tighter as if expecting her to bolt for the gate now that she'd been discovered.

"Why would you think that?" Katara asked curiously.

"You're the only person I don't know," the child confided. "I'm very good at 'membering people. Masks makes it harder but I still don't know you."

"Do you know everyone in the village?" Katara asked, amused.

"No," she admitted, twisting her hands behind her back and peering through the eye holes of the mask up at Katara. "But… are you?"

"Come here," Katara moved to one knee and pulled the child partly onto her lap. "I came here with him. Does he look like a Fire Spirit?"

Zuko looked down at them and the little girl's eyes widened at the sight of the grinning blue and white face. She swallowed and shook her head no so fast Katara was hit in the face with her hair. Grinning, Katara put the fire nation child back on her feet. The girl ducked around Katara, peeking out at Zuko again as curiosity fought with fright. "He's nice, I promise," Katara soothed her. "A little grumpy maybe…" Even if she couldn't see it, she got the impression that Zuko was rolling his eyes behind the mask.

"Do you want him to take it off?" Katara asked, a little hesitant that the girl might have been more frightened than she'd meant her to be.

"Katara, do you really think my actual face would be _less_ frightening?" Zuko whispered. Katara gave a start. When had she actually _forgotten _Zuko's scar? But the little girl was again shaking her head, a stubborn expression pressing her lips together.

"You can't take your mask off," she said scornfully. "Then the Fire Lily Spirit will get scared and leave before she has a chance to dance."

"Then maybe we'd better get the dancing started." This was a new voice. Katara turned and saw a young man roughly her own age with one hand extended. "I noticed you never really said you_ weren't_ the Fire Lily," he added, a cocky grin showing beneath a leafy mask that covered the upper half of his face. "So how about a dance, to put the little one's mind at ease? Do me the honor, Ms. Painted Lady." He gave a flourished little bow and Katara laughed, cheeks going pink at the obvious flirt. She glanced once at Zuko who remained impassive and then nodded with a smile.

The music started up in a fast waltz and the boy took both Katara's hands as they entered a large open square where people had begun to dance. They spun around in a giddy circle, the veils on Katara's hat flying wildly around her in time with the music. Her partner was half a head taller than she was and had wild brown hair long enough that it was tied back in a green ribbon, a few tendrils escaping the hold to frame his cheeks. Leaf-mask spun her and raised his eyebrows in a challenge. Katara met him move for move and soon there was a small crowd surrounding the pair and watching them dance.

Zuko stood a little ways back from the crowd, scanning the faces for anyone who looked even remotely Earth Kingdom, but with the masks and the way the torchlight cast strange shadows on every face it was hopeless. Unless someone walked by with a green and gold shirt that said "I met the Earth King's bear and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" this night would be a waste.

"You shouldn't leave your girlfriend with him for long." Zuko turned to see a girl with long hair looking over at him with a half-smile. Her mask was strange, though far from the strangest he'd seen that night. It was a patchwork of materials sewn together reminding Zuko of a peasant's doll. "He's a flirt," she continued bluntly. "He's been here all day picking up girl after girl."

"She's not my girlfriend," Zuko said hotly. "She's just a friend."

"Oh so she's your friend but you're not going to step in when she starts falling for the wrong sort?" the girl asked. "Some friend you are. Seriously, that boy's bad news. Go cut in before she gets in trouble."

Zuko grumbled under his breath and glared at her before pushing his way into the crowd towards the middle where Katara danced. A woman nearby leaned back to talk to the girl with the patched mask. "What are you going on about?" she asked. "I saw the boy dancing in there come in the front gate not half an hour ago, never seen him before in my life. Why'd you say he'd been here all day picking up girls."

The masked young woman shrugged but couldn't hide a grin. "It was just for fun. Besides, I think the Blue Spirit needs to dance."

Zuko hovered on the edge of the ring of people to wait for an opportunity to step in. He eyed the green masked boy suspiciously, sizing him up. He didn't look much like a fighter but dancing like _that_ required a lot of energy and the boy was barely breaking a sweat. Zuko wished he'd had his swords with him. Their weight would have been a comfort.

After a few more minutes of stalling he saw his chance when the dance slowed. He moved behind Leaf-mask and tapped him on the shoulder. When the two dancers turned, he slipped between them and spun Katara. He wasn't nearly as graceful and there were a few laughs and catcalls from the audience but Leaf-mask stepped away after a few seconds of hesitation and was immediately claimed by a busty young woman who swept him away across the dance space.

"I didn't think you danced," Katara said as she and Zuko began to move at a more gentle pace.

"I don't," he said curtly.

Katara looked like she was about to comment on that and instead chose, "You're too stiff. Relax. Listen to the drums. One-two-three, one-two-three…."

"This isn't relaxing," Zuko hissed. "People are staring."

"No they're not," Katara insisted. "Look, most of them have gone off to dance themselves." It was true. Rather than a ring of onlookers there were now couples and small groups dancing everywhere. Someone was singing along with the music but Katara couldn't make out the words. "Come on," she coaxed. "Isn't this fun? Did you ever have royal dances as a kid?"

"Um, once," Zuko said, glancing down at their feet to see if he'd stepped on her yet. "When my mother was still at the palace. Azula tried to lock me in a closet so mother made her babysit one of our cousins for the rest of the night. It was the first and probably the last time I saw Azula beg." He smiled and Katara could feel him relaxing. His dance steps were still stiff and he held himself far too formally for such a casual setting but she suspected he was having a bit of fun in there somewhere.

"What about you?" she asked, keeping the conversation going. "Did you dance?"

He hesitated. "It was less dancing and more some distant relative picking me up and flinging me around the room. But I did learn how to do the Camelephant Strut. It's this really old dance but it was… actually pretty fun," he admitted. Katara knew she'd heard that name before and tried to remember. From somewhere in the back of her mind she pulled the image of Aang darting back and forth from one foot to the other in a quick rhythm, passing his hands over his face with each step. She took a step back from Zuko and mimicked the moves as best she remembered them. Zuko was nearly floored.

"Y-you know it?" he asked. "How?"

"Aang once had a friend in the fire nation," she said happily. "I don't know all of it. Just this bit."

"I think the next part…" Zuko frowned behind the mask, trying to remember. When one of the leaps took her near him he took her hand and joined the leap before leaning back and away at the last minute. Katara gasped and for a moment was flush against Zuko before he whirled away, a triumphant look on his face. "I guess I do remember."

They each improvised what they could remember with what felt right and the dance became a kind of game. Katara would leap and Zuko would catch her, either pulling her close or lifting her high by the waist so that she landed on the other side where they would circle each other. Then the dance would begin again. People watching later said they weren't sure if it reminded them more of a love story or a battle. The strange mask and red face paint looked violent in the firelight and each dancer's movements were precise and sharp. But where they touched things became softer for only a moment before they separated in the lively dance again.

A boy hidden behind a green leafed mask watched the two, his eyes narrowed to cold slits.


End file.
